Bats fluttered past our heads as we walked deeper into the mine.  The only light was that provided by the flashlights we held.  We walked slightly stooped over and the hard hats we wore scraped along the ceiling of the tunnel of this gold mine hand dug and blasted over 100 years ago.  

Our tour guide, “Smokey,”a certified miner and ranger for the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State park in Nevada, stopped along the tour to point out this escape route.  “In the event of a mine collapse and I am no longer with you,” Smokey told us, “this ladder will lead you to the surface.”  The surface was hundreds of feet up these ladders!

Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park is located in rural Nevada near the town of Gabbs.  We toured the fossil beds, the ghost town and mine this summer.  The gold mine and ghost town is “Berlin.” and the “Ichthyosaur” are the dinosaur fossils discovered nearby.  Explore this site online and plan it as part of an exciting wild west trip soon.

We are visiting family in Vegas, among other things, then off to Shoshone, California for their annual Western Days celebration as part of the “Old Fashioned” Art & Crafts show.  

Its name translates “Thunder Lizard,” a type of sauropod that roamed what is now the Moab area of Utah, about 150 million geologic years ago.  While on a treck to see petroglyphs we detoured to see these dinosaur tracks.  The shelf of limestone had collapsed and fallen several hundred feet and had settled at about a 45 degree angle a few hundred feet above the river.  The climb rewarded us with a spectacular view and these tracks.  It was exciting to walk in the same place that these massive creatures once called home.

We have been home now for a few weeks and enjoyed catching up on things here.  Next week we the 42nd Annual Gem & Mineral Show held at the Sportsmen’s Club in Joshua Tree, California.  The High Desert is beautiful this time of year.  We look forward to seeing family and friends.  The show starts Wednesday, October 4 and runs through Sunday, October 8.  Hope to see you there.

Tomorrow is Labor Day,  a national recognition for all those that work.  We are at the end of our two month Great Eclipse trip.  The Art in the Park show, here in Bishop has been wonderful.  We have met old friends and met new ones. 

Each day we try to read one chapter of the Bible together.  We find great peace and satisfaction in knowing God.  Currently we are reading in Hebrews. God talks about being done working. First after he rested on the seventh day and finally resting after dying for us on the cross. 

Now my point.  Many on social media seem unhappy and struggling.  Perhaps you work too hard and miss the rest God offers.  Our prayer is that you can find rest in God as have we.  

May your Labor Day be blessed.